Thieves' Market at Sungei Road to make way for new homes

Singapore’s oldest and biggest flea market will be closing for good on 10 July to make way for new homes. The Thieves’ Market at Sungei Road began as a small trading spot in the 1930s...

Sungei Road flea market. (Photo: Terence Ong, Wikimedia Commons)

Singapore’s oldest and biggest flea market will be closing for good on 10 July to make way for new homes.

The Thieves’ Market at Sungei Road began as a small trading spot in the 1930s. It gained the nickname due to its reputation for smuggled, stolen and illegal goods following the Japanese Occupation, reported Channel NewsAsia.

“While the Sungei Road Hawking Zone (SRHZ) has had a long history and holds special memories for many Singaporeans, over time the nature of the site has changed, as reflected in both the profile of vendors and buyers and type of goods sold,” said the Ministry of National Development (MND), National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), National Heritage Board (NHB), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) in a joint statement issued on Tuesday (14 February).

SRHZ is the official name of the Thieves’ Market site.

“The government has assessed that such street trades should only be allowed to continue in designated venues like trade fairs and flea markets, rather than on a permanent basis, to minimise disamenities to the public,” the statement said.

The market’s vendors will be given assistance, with the NEA offering 11 permit holders the option to operate lock-up stalls at selected hawker centres at subsidised rental rates. WSG will also provide eligible vendors with employment services under existing schemes, while social service offices will offer financial assistance.

Meanwhile, those registered with the police under the Secondhand Goods Dealers Act will have to provide a new business address if they plan to continue their secondhand goods trade elsewhere, said the statement.

To acknowledge the area’s long history, the NHB conducted research and documentation of the market and vendors to preserve the site’s memories. Those resources, which includes a virtual tour, can be found on Roots.sg, the NHB’s heritage portal.

 

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg